Library of Congress and Bibliothèque Nationale de France Announce Collaboration on International Digital Content

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and Laurence Engel, president of the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), today announced a collaboration between the Library of Congress and the BnF to provide digital content for a new online space for collections relating to shared French-American history. The initiative will also be supported by other U.S. organizations, including the National Archives.

During the special visit to the Library, President Macron and his wife, Brigitte, viewed a display that included treasures from the Library of Congress and National Archives that will be part of the international collaboration, which highlights an extensive tradition of close cooperation between the United States and France.

Through direct digital access to complete books, maps, prints and other documents from the collections of the partner libraries, the new bilingual website will focus on the cultural and historical connections between France and Northern America and, more specifically, the United States during the 16th through the 19thcenturies.

This digital space, which revitalizes a previous initiative called “France in America,” is part of the missions of the Library of Congress and the Bibliothèque nationale de France to make their resources available to ever-growing audiences and to preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations.

“The Library of Congress is thrilled to continue these mutual efforts with the National Library of France to collect, preserve and provide access to the rich cultural heritage of France and French-Americans,” said Hayden. “Together we have a substantial collection of materials reflecting the deep historical and cultural connections between France and the United States, as well as materials documenting and celebrating French-American life.”

“Since the epic story of the New France, our two nations share also a common history,” said Engel. “The future website, a joint initiative of the Library of Congress and the National Library of France, will associate prestigious American institutions such as the National Archives to bring it to life for the benefit of all.”

“The National Archives is honored to be celebrating the important historical ties between our countries by sharing our unique French-American documents in this exciting international venture,” said Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero.

As a key part of this collaboration, Bibliothèque nationale de France will create and host the website, which is part of its collection “Shared Heritage,” while the Library of Congress will select and make available high-quality digital scans of relevant materials from its collections.

Gary Price (gprice@mediasourceinc.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. Before launching INFOdocket, Price and Shirl Kennedy were the founders and senior editors at ResourceShelf and DocuTicker for 10 years. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com, and is currently a contributing editor at Search Engine Land.